Since the start of the full-scale war, the Russian authorities been developing a set of methods for “reeducating” Ukrainian children who have been forcibly deported to Russia. Their ultimate aim is for the children to “develop a Russian identity.” 🧵
meduza.io/en/feature/202… One teacher guide compiled by Russia’s Education Ministry claims Ukrainian children lack the “knowledge” and “social skills” that “children in the Russian space have by default.” It includes instructions for talking to kids whose family members may have been killed in the war:

In February, the Russian authorities launched a series of cyberattacks against Meduza more intense than any we’ve ever faced. The assault began around the time of Alexey Navalny’s death—and about a month before Russia’s upcoming presidential election. 🧵
meduza.io/en/feature/202… Meduza has been dealing with these kinds of attacks for practically our entire existence, and they became especially intense after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. But our tech team has never encountered these threats at this scale before. Here’s what it looks like:

A new paper published in a Russian legal journal attributes Russia’s problems to a “genocide” orchestrated by the country’s non-Russian ethnic groups, genetically modified “beast people,” and reptilian aliens. 🧵 Some of its main arguments:
meduza.io/en/feature/202… Russians, unlike other “tribes,” have stopped procreating. This is because Russians are working too hard “carrying Russia on their backs,” and because they’ve been corrupted by Western culture and the demoness Lilith.

Meduza has been declared an “undesirable” organization in Russia. In other words, our newsroom’s work is now completely banned in the country our founders call home. Here is our response the authorities’ decision to outlaw our journalism. meduza.io/en/feature/202… If Meduza doesn’t now dissolve itself, Russian criminal prosecution threatens not only our senior staff and team of journalists but also anyone who simply distributes our materials (including acts as innocuous as sharing a link on Facebook to one of our articles) ...

The first issue of The Beet is up! Written by @Aliide_N and told through the eyes of those who lost others to Soviet violence, it explores the complicated legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, challenging the notion that the USSR’s demise was “bloodless.”
meduza.io/en/feature/202… Thirty-one years after the USSR’s collapse, a group of Lithuanians sought to hold Gorbachev accountable for the January Events in 1991, when Soviet troops carried out a lethal crackdown in Vilnius, almost a year after Lithuania reasserted its independence.

We asked Russian mercenaries and contract soldiers who have already fought in Moscow's war against Ukraine what they think of the new mobilization campaign. One said that on his first day in Ukraine, "I realized I had made the biggest mistake of my life."
meduza.io/en/feature/202… The same man said that as he rode in an army truck and watched bombed-out villages go by, "I realized that we were the occupiers; we were the fascists. [...] I realized we were actually destroying a country. Along with its civilian population."
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Meet the Beet — our new email dispatch focused on Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia! Every week, we deliver one feature story you won’t find anywhere else. Our first issue is coming soon, so be sure to subscribe today! mdza.io/beet Featuring original reporting and deep analysis, The Beet covers society, politics, and culture in these often-underreported regions, without centering Moscow, the “West,” or the latest news.

Kremlin-linked mogul Evgeny Prigozhin has admitted to being the founder and financier of the Wagner private military company (PMC). Over the years, Prigozhin has filed lawsuits against Meduza and others for reporting on his ties to the mercenary group. A🧵
meduza.io/en/news/2022/0… Back in the 1980s, Prigozhin was sentenced to 12 years in prison for robbery, fraud, and "involving minors in crime." Meduza decided to let the charges speak for themselves: we published a translation of a cassation court’s ruling on Prigozhin’s appeal.
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On the morning of September 26, a man opened fire at a school in Izhevsk. As of now, the Investigative Committee reports that 13 people have been killed as a result, 7 children among them. meduza.io/en/news/2022/0… According to authorities, the death toll has now risen to 15.

Protests against mobilization have started across Russia today in response to Vladimir Putin’s mobilization declaration. A thread on the protests around Russia. It will be updated as more information becomes available. In Barnaul, Altai region, around 60 people have gathered. t.me/soc_mol/558

Here's how Russian and Ukrainian public figures reacted to Russia passing new "mobilization" legislation just as dates were announced for sham referendums on annexing Ukraine's occupied territories.
meduza.io/en/feature/202… Opposition politician Lev Shlosberg: "It cannot be ignored that the amendments passed [today] copy Stalin’s Criminal Code almost verbatim."
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Both the "LNR" and "DNR" have set dates for their referendums to join the Russian Federation. Both referendums are to be held September 23-27. meduza.io/en/news/2022/0… According to two Meduza sources close to the Russian presidential administration, "referendums" will also be held in the other Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine – Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions – on September 23-27.

Russian rapper Oxxxymiron, who canceled all of his concerts and left the country after February 24, returned to his native St. Petersburg and released a music video on Friday. The song, called “Oh yeah” is an antiwar tour de force. It begins and ends with a chorus of: “Oh, take the house. Oh, settle in. Oh, choke on it. We'll rebuild.” The rest includes lines like: “I killed the empire in me,” and, “Under the mountain, the old gnome hiccups with his old Adam's apple, frightening us with a mushroom cloud…

On Sunday, Alla Pugacheva, one of the most famous and widely-loved people in Russia, posted an "Appeal to the Ministry of Justice" on Instagram. The post was a response to her husband being a labeled a foreign agent. meduza.io/en/news/2022/0… Pugacheva offered a direct challenge to the authorities, writing, "I am asking you to please include me in the ranks of foreign agents of my beloved country, for I stand in solidarity with my husband, an honest, decent and sincere man,

Reporting the facts is a crime in Putin’s Russia.
This doesn’t stop Meduza from doing its job: helping our millions of readers to maintain access to reliable information about Russia and its actions in this monstrous war. And we need your support.
support.meduza.io/en Meduza’s mission has always been to provide trustworthy information about developments in Russia. And it’s more important now than ever to understand how these events will affect the country and — unfortunately — the rest of the world.

BBC Russian Service: The Russian Government has spent RUB 10 billion on accepting refugees from Ukraine. They spoke about poor food, withheld payments, and visa interrogations. A thread.
bbc.com/russian/featur… Due to Russian occupation, it’s nearly impossible for Ukrainians in the occupied territories to flee to areas under Ukrainian control. Thus, many end up in Russia.